Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Kenaf

Kenaf composites experience a number of damage modes under dynamic compression loading. Therefore, in order to understand the overall behavior of the Kenaf composite, it is necessary to identify the different types of impact damage that occurred. Damage of composites such as cracking constituents usually occur and are not totally visible. To understand it, examination and analysis of specimens are needed. Microscope observation was used to observe the morphology of fractures of tested samples. This technique has been largely considered in various investigations of composites. The observed images of the fractured specimens under dynamic compressive test are shown in figure 9. On the top surface, it can be seen that the impact damage spreads throughout the specimen. These damage modes include degradation of the fiber/matrix bond strength and eventual debonding, matrix cracks, and fiber splitting, resulting in overall stiffness and strength degradation of the composite. This failure of the matrix material can originate from various loading conditions. In all cases, cracks initiate or propagate within the matrix or at the interface between fiber and matrix, if the respective loading condition of normal stresses or shear stresses exceeds the local strength of the matrix or interface, respectively. While bulk of the failure involves cracking of matrix, or interface debonding, fiber splitting may occur especially if fiber itself is weak in transverse direction, and the unidirectional composite is highly aligned in transverse direction. Referring to Fig. 7, longitudinal ply splitting or matrix fractures parallel to the fibre direction occurs and extends from the top and to the bottom surfaces. So, at the moment of impact, stress concentration is generated at the contact point where the matrix cracks and fiber bundles split. On the one hand, the stress wave propagates along the fiber direction, the fiber bundles act as the main load-bearing object, and fewer cracks can be seen along the longitudinal direction. Moreover, Figs. 9 shows a higher extent of fiber splitting and bending, which confirmed lower fiber-matrix adhesion, also indicates fibers were carrying higher load share than matrix (Ku et al. 2011).Based on the results of the experimental investigation, bonding at the fiber-matrix interface is identified as the dominant compressive failure mechanism in Kenaf composites which controlling the mechanical performance. Previous study have also shown that debonding of the fiber/matrix interface has caused substantial degradation in the transverse response of a composite, resulting in an early degradation in the stress-strain curve [33]. Besides, multiaxial tests conducted by Lissenden, et al. [34] on SiCTi tubular specimens revealed that fiber/matrix interfacial debonding plays an important role in the axial shear response. The mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced composites highly depend on the interface adhesion property between the fibres and the polymer matrix as have been reported by many researchers [5–8]

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Character of Curley Essay

Candy joined the attack with joy â€Å"Glove fulla vaseline† ; he said disgustedly I didn’t wanta; Lennie cried. I didn’t wanta hurt him. Ques : Explore how the language in this extract influences your view of Curly? The language used in the extract shows Curley to be hateful, violent and angry. The extract describes a scene where by Curley is attacking Lennie, and it begins mid-attack. From the beginning of the extract it is clear that Curley is in an angry mood from the way that he â€Å"glared† at Candy when Candy joins the attack. Steinbeck uses a simile to describe Curley – â€Å"Curley stepped over like a terrier.† This comparison to a terrier works on two levels because a terrier is both small and aggressive, and Curley’s small size and aggressive nature are theme not only in the extract, but also throughout the book. When Curley speaks to Lennie, he uses obscene language and such as â€Å"bastard† and â€Å"son-of-a-bit ch.† This further gives the reader the impression that Curley is rude and aggressive, and also that he dislikes Lennie. Curley attacks Lennie, punching him in the face and stomach, but at first Lennie does not fight back or defend himself. However, Curley continues to attack him. At this point, the reader feels sympathy for Lennie and feels that Curley is the guilty aggressor. This feeling is shared by Slim, who jumps up and calls Curley a â€Å"dirty little rat.† The language used here creates a very negative portrayal of Curley, as rats are very dirty animals But then when Lennie does finally fight back, we see a different and weaker side to Curley. Lennie is much bigger and stronger than Curley. Lennie catches Curley fist with ease and Curley is left â€Å"flopping like a fish on a line.† This use of simile shows Curley to be weak and defenceless and shows that Lennie has caught him out. There is a sudden transition from Curley being violent and aggressive (like a terrier ) to him being beaten up and defeated â€Å"Curley was white and shrunken by now†¦ He stood crying.†

Monday, July 29, 2019

Amazon Com An E Commerce Retailer Marketing Essay

Amazon Com An E Commerce Retailer Marketing Essay Aggressive competition, along with the external factors of a poor economy and possible repeal of the Internet sales tax exemption, has forced Amazon.com to reevaluate its current strategies and redevelop an â€Å"effective differentiating strategy† in order to make the company a â€Å"consistent money maker† in the short and long-term time frames, while still continuing to pursue corporate objectives of expanding at reasonable costs and staying ahead of the company’s competition. 2. Summary statement of the recommended solution: Develop and implement a competitive business-to-business (B2B) exchange for suppliers, retailers, manufacturers and distributors. B. THE SITUATION Amazon.com was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and was , â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦considered to be the premier online retailer in the world† (Collins, P., Mockler, R., & Gartenfeld, M., p. 2, 2003) in 2003. The company originally only started with selling books, but later expanded into severa l other product lines such as: CD’s, DVD’s & videos, electronics, toys, apparel, and home & garden supplies. Amazon.com also offered services which included: online auctions, partnerships with retailers (i.e. The Gap & Eddie Bauer,) Zshops (store hosting) and website management. In 2003 the company reported its first operating profit of $64.1 million, which was an 115.55% increase from 2001’s $412.2 million operating loss, for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2002. Amazon continued to meet its internal goals, â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦of focusing on increased market share, expanded product offerings, and overall sales growth, the company was still facing pressureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to produce consistent operating profits and to prove that its business model worked financially over the long-term.† (Collins, P., Mockler, R., & Gartenfeld, M., p. 3, 2003) The pressure the company was facing, combined with a decreasing consumer confidence, an increased unemploymen t rate, and competitive threats from other online companies, like eBay and Yahoo!, who had started to expand into Amazon.com’s current markets, left Bezos â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦with the task of developing an effective differentiating enterprise strategy if Amazon.com was to survive and prosper against aggressive competitionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Collins, P., Mockler, R., & Gartenfeld, M., p. 2, 2003) II. ANALYSIS A. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION 1. Management In Amazon.com first year as a company, they focused completely on increasing market share and superior customer service, but when the dotcom â€Å"bubble burst† happened and Amazon.com’s stock prices fell Bezos and his management team struck a good balance between their goal of increasing market share and their goal of producing a profit. This shows that the management team for Amazon.com is rather flexible one and is willing to change strategies when the opportunities arise and the company is willing to modif y its business model if it feels that an opportunity to expand in a new area will be profitable. 2. Operations Amazon.com has a corporate headquarters, which is located in Seattle, WA, and several distribution centers that are located in New Castle Delaware, Coffeyville Kansas, as well as in Campbellsville and Lexington Kentucky. Having these distribution centers allow for a better ability to regionally segment the United States, which allows for faster order fulfillment and higher customer satisfaction. Since they operate online, they have also expanded their website operations into several different countries including: Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The Life and Story of Joan Baez Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Life and Story of Joan Baez - Essay Example Born in 1941 in the New York suburbs, Baez had quite a normal childhood (Baez 19), although due to the Mexican background she did face the discrimination and slurring at times based on racial differences. Yet she never responded in any negative way and worked on developing tolerance trying to live purposeful life. Her father was a physicist and was associated with United Nations agency on different fronts. The traces of singing and music started showing up in her teen days. Guitar was her best friend since the early times, and those early days can be traced back to performances at local clubs which set the foundations for bright prosperous future as a world-famous singer in times to come ahead. â€Å"Honey Love† (Retuya, n.p.) was one of the early performances of her school times. This was the first of many good performances that would follow up and eventually make her a standard hit singer in times to come. Her discography is quite rich and has never been interrupted for too long since 1960s going on with paced intervals. The 60s decade saw turbulent times on the United States of America political scene. With Vietnam War, Missile Crisis, Korean War, and endless internal and external unrest that had a direct effect on human rights, made an impact on her mind and, hence, made her think of using her strength in her field to convey ideas she was passionate about. Her songs’ contents soon took a turn for social events. The next few years saw a thick diversion to the anti-war movement, social rights, justice and equality. All this was conveyed through the strongest tool she possessed – her music. Her forte also stretched to the rights of women in mainstream as she advocated their equal participation and protested against exploitation in any way. At times she had to go through the challenges; a glimpse of it was seen when she was arrested for violating the law and refusing to pay the taxes in response to the Vietnam War, since she saw it as serio us violation of human rights by the United States on a global scale. Her autobiography that was released in the end of 60s shed light on her struggle, her critical and humane eye for the human sufferings and the imperialist pursuits of the government of her country and other superpowers worldwide. The autobiography was entitled â€Å"Day Break† and was the diary of a strong woman who dreamed of justice for everyone in spite of race, gender and nationality. To her best ability and input she established an Amnesty International branch in part of the country where she could manage and develop it. The efforts were not just limited to staying at one place and promoting the purpose of the foundation. She travelled far and wide and through her music and philanthropic pursuit spread the word and successfully conveyed the message of peace and harmony. Even in the 70s her music depicted the message of peace loud and clear. â€Å"Diamond and Rust†, one of her best known songs tha t was released in 1975, had the same tone and purpose to it.

Healthcare marketing the five Ps of healthcare marketing Assignment

Healthcare marketing the five Ps of healthcare marketing - Assignment Example Reading through the case, the most important strategic issue that CMC can be associated with is how to competitively win insurance holders from all walks of economic background to using its services. As it is now, the whole area of Fresno is noted to hardly embrace managed care and so there should be a strategy to making customers embrace this. With the strategic issue noted, it is expected that there would have been a strategic marketing plan that was designed to directly address the issue. This is because strategic marketing plans are useful only when they come to solve identified marketing problems (Good, 2008). specifically, the marketing plan should have made use of the focus strategic option to identify specific demographics whose managed care needs will be addressed directly. With the proposed strategic marketing plan and the outcome of the report, some of the foremost issues that should have gone ahead of positioning and promotion of CMC should have been the need for research and development (R&D) to understand the market, and also market feasibility to know the right marketing mix that works for this market. Elements of valid marketing plan that can be used include product or service, promotion, price, people, and purpose. These would help CMC to better position itself in a way that directly addresses the most salient needs it is faced with on the

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Honor Killing by Stoning Innocent yet Inconvenient Essay

Honor Killing by Stoning Innocent yet Inconvenient - Essay Example The nature of the crime seems to have involved a lot of ideologies. Soraya Manutchehri, who was thirty five years of age by then, happened to have been the victim talked about in this case. Not to forget is that she was also a mother of seven. She was considered an â€Å"inconvenient wife† due to her own prophetic words (Sahebjam, 2011). This came about after she was forced into a marriage at a tender age of thirteen and was left with no choice but to get married to a trivial criminal by the name Ghorban –Ali. Soraya who got married to a twenty year old man, managed to bear nine children despite the kind of tribulations she went through (Ebert, 2011). Her husband being a criminal did all sorts of evil things that made her life uncomfortable but still made no move fore she had no powers having been forced by some external powers or ideologies that she could not run away from (Muchelemba, 2003). In the lawless days of the Iranian revolution, Sorayas husband found a fourte en year old girl who he was planning to marry having met her in a town where he was employed as a prison guard (Sahebjam, 1994). Being that polygamy was encouraged in Ayatolla Khomeini’s Iran, Ghorban had to find ways of divorcing her first wife Soraya as he was tired of her (Saigeon & Sapergia, 2009). Divorce was also allowed but Ghorban did not want to return Soraya’s dowry (Saigeon, 2011). Due to this, he was left with no other alternative but to accuse Soraya of infidelity. The accusation was backed by Ghorban’s cousin even though he did not have any evidence to support his back up (Green, 1920). Soraya after the accusations was convicted by the â€Å"sharia† court and had to serve a death sentence by stoning (Green, 1920). The village or nation did not practice freedom of speech especially to the feminine. Existence of freedom of speech could have helped Soraya out of the mess. The idea of free speech is one of the most controversial issues in libera l societies and in case the liberty to express oneself is not greatly valued, as has been the case in most states, there is no problem since freedom of expression is merely condensed in errand of other values. When free speech is valued extremely it becomes a variable issue due to the fact that it is only at this point when the precincts placed upon freedom of speech become contentious. The right to free speech is one of the dearest rights an individual has as a citizen of the United States of America and is also practiced in other continents including Africa. Liberty to speech is a human right that provides people with a chance to express their feelings and opinions of what they think that it should take place. Throughout history such rights have been questioned and exercised, and have produced extremely positive things in a number of cases. The questioning of these rights is not isolated to one era of time; they have been questioned several times in the history of man and in dissi milar manner. Currently, individuals have been going on rampage on the roads and streets usually complaining about the right to speech and this was the case even in the colonial era hence it is very important to put into mind individuals wished that their voice should be heard and so long as it is carried out in a diplomatic mode it became lawful, though it led to colonialists’ punishment. It is true that people have never queried whether or not these rights

Friday, July 26, 2019

Bullying at school Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bullying at school - Article Example Among girls, however, physical bullying is not common and they indulge more so in subtle and indirect means. Also, around 15% of students between 8 to 16 years of age had some kind of an involvement in bully-victim issues regularly. There are several myths and assumptions made regarding the issue of bullying which actually have not gotten any kind of support from researches, as stated by (Olweus, 2003). For instance, it is thought that bullying occurs in a large class or when the school is very big, when the students are competing for grades, and when a person feels insecure or lacks self-esteem. There is also a very common assumption, which is also very often used in books and movies, that victims of bullying tend to be fat, wear glasses, and talk in a very different or weird manner. None of this, however, is true and victims cannot be generalized into this category; at least not in light of the evidence that

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Persuasive Custom Speech on Legalization of Marijuana in California or Presentation

Persuasive Custom on Legalization of Marijuana in California - Speech or Presentation Example Today's marijuana users are not Otto the bus driver, smoking a joint while driving past imaginary purple elephants. They are not deadbeats hanging onto the fringe of society. They are average men and women, many of them diligent students, community business owners, and even civic leaders (NORML). Are these people criminals? No! They are simply good people caught on the bad side of a poorly-written, poorly-planned, and poorly-executed public policy. California is known as the cutting edge of social change. The state is already at the forefront of the drug legalization debate, having legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996 (Secretary of State). This means the state already has experience in the regulation and distribution of marijuana legally, and makes it the perfect testing ground for the legalization of recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has been found to be more effective on a wider variety of symptoms and to be safer, with fewer side effects, than Marinol, an artificial cannaboid medication (Joy, Watson, & Benson, p 203). There has been no evidence that the legalization of medical marijuana in the state has increased recreational usage, and the passage of this law saved thousands of legitimate disease sufferers from being banded as criminals.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - Essay Example For example, Apple Inc was on the verge of destruction in the 80’s and 90’s because of the huge competition from arch rival Microsoft. However, the company was able to introduce some innovative products such as iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc at the beginning of 2000. The rest is history now. Apple Inc. is currently the most valuable technology company in the world and they are the second largest in terms of market capitalization. According to Rigby et al, (2009, p.2), â€Å"innovation is both a vaccine against market slowdowns and an elixir that rejuvenates growth†. On the other hand knowledge management (KM) is the process of discovering, developing, utilizing, delivering, and absorbing knowledge inside and outside the organization. The aim of KM is to meet current and future needs of an organization (Poorebrahimi et al., 2012). As in the case of innovation, the ultimate aim of KM is to improve the competitive power of an organization. If knowledge is the raw material, data will be the finished good for an organization. If data are the building blocks, then knowledge is the finished house. In short, knowledge management is extremely important for an organization. This paper analyses the importance of innovation and knowledge management in improving the competitive power of modern organizations. ... These phones are modifications of Samsung’s previous smartphone; Galaxy S2. In other words, S3 and S4 can be described as examples for incremental innovation. On the other hand, Apple has introduced world’s first touchscreen phone (iPhone) at the beginning of 2000. No other phones available in the market had touchscreen technology at that time. Therefore, iPhone can be described as an example for radical innovation. â€Å"Incremental innovation modestly improves a firm’s products or processes or fine-tunes its business model. Radical innovation significantly improves existing products and services or replaces them with new ones† (Susman et al., 2006, p.16). Radical innovation occurs less frequently than incremental innovation since radical innovation is an expensive act compared to incremental innovation. There are two types of organizations in the market; leaders and followers. Leaders always develop innovative and new products whereas followers try to im itate those products. For example Apple was the first one who innovated the touchscreen phone. Samsung, Sony, Nokia and many other mobile manufacturers followed the path of Apple after watching the success of iPhone. According to Tellis et al (2009), radical innovation is crucial to the growth of firms and economies. Both radical and incremental innovations are necessary for an organization to sustain its competitive power. However, radical innovation seems to be more effective in improving the competitive power of an organization. According to Rubera, & Kirca (2012), radical innovation is more effective than incremental innovation. For example, Microsoft is one company which introduces many innovative products such as Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Cell proliferation experiment, Immunoprecipitation and western blot Essay

Cell proliferation experiment, Immunoprecipitation and western blot experiment, cell imaging experiment - Essay Example The aim of this work was to elucidate the mechanism by which cp250 causes tumors and identify which signaling pathways were activated by its binding to the cell. The first experiment looked at the effect of cp250 on cell proliferation and compared it to the effect of the growth factor PDGFA and the second and third experiments looked at which pathways were triggered by the binding of cp250 to hepatocytes. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether cp250 caused cell proliferation in hepatocytes and also to establish whether it was recognized by the same receptor that bound the growth factor PDGFA. As shown in Table 1, cp250 and PDGFA clearly have similar effects on cell proliferation. Hepatocytes that were treated with either cp250 or PDGFA both showed an increase in proliferation as compared to cells that were not given either. Moreover cp250 and PDGFA appear to bind to the same receptor, PDGFR. There does not appear to be any synergism when both are used together. Hepatocytes that were treated with antisense RNA to the receptor prior to incubation with the ligands did not show a significant increase in proliferation. In addition, scrambled siRNA that does not target any cellular mRNA does not affect the binding of either cp250 or PDGFA to the receptor. This indicates that the binding of cp250 is specific to PDGFR. The next step was to identify which downstream elements in the signaling process were activated on binding to the receptor. In order to do this, hepatocytes that were treated with cp250 and PDGFA were lysed and complexes that were formed were pulled down with an antibody to the receptor. Western blots with antibodies raised against different downstream signaling molecules were performed to identify which components were complexed with the receptor after activation. Controls were performed with cells treated with water. As can be seen in Fig.1A, cp250 and PDGFA both bind to the receptor PDGFR, confirming the first experiment. From Fig.1B, it can be seen that Phospholipase gamma 1 (PLC1) is recruited to the receptor after treatment with either cp250 or PDGFA. From Fig.1C, it can be inferred that autophosphorylation of PDGFR and phosphorylation of PLC1 take place, indicating the activation of PLC1 takes place once it is recruited to the activated receptor. Confocal Microscopy The aim of this experiment was to confirm the activation of the inositol phospholipids pathway and further characterize the downstream signaling pathway set off by the binding of cp250 to PDGFR. The confocal images show that when rat hepatocytes transfected with EGFP-tagged PLC1 are treated with either cp250 or PDGFA, the PLC1 is localized to the cell membrane, indicating their recruitment. This localization is markedly absent in cells treated with water alone. On addition of the red fluorescent Ca2+ sensing dye X-rhod-1, there is an increase in red fluorescence in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes treated with cp250 or PDGFA but not with water. This indicates that the IP3 signalling pathway has been activated upon binding of the viral protein. DISCUSSION The present work was intended to try and deduce the probable mechanism by which cp250 acts upon the hepatocyte and causes tumorigenesis. Given its similarity to the growth factor PDGFA, it seemed reasonable to postulate that it bound to the same

Pre-assessment Stage Essay Example for Free

Pre-assessment Stage Essay The participants of the study are 40 second grade Hispanic students who are currently studying English as a second-language in one of their courses. These students lived at the Mexico-US border and are currently attending a small urban school district in the metropolitan Chicago area. Two teachers were selected from a list of teachers who were known to apply each method (Pask’s and Landa’s) in teaching mathematics. Procedure Two classes of 20 students each were compared in a month’s period of time. The classes had 90 minutes of mathematics per day. The class applied Pask’s Conversation Theory while the other applied Landa’s Algo-Heuristic Theory. The study included a pre-assessment and a final assessment stage. Before classes start, the students were first asked to fill out a form regarding their personal information. After which, each of the students were given an examination to assess their proficiency in English and knowledge in Mathematics. General Procedure For the first thirty minutes of the first day, the teachers discussed addition and subtraction of digits more than two. For the next thirty minutes, the teachers then showed some examples. Then for the last thirty minutes, each student was asked to answer addition and subtraction equations on the board. For the next day, the first fifteen minutes were devoted in reviewing the topics discussed yesterday. Then after, for the next hour, the teachers discussed word problems in which addition and subtraction of digits more than three is applied. The last thirty minutes were devoted for board work. The third day was also allotted for reviewing word problems in the first thirty minutes. The Pask teacher paired up each student and then assigned a word problem to each pair. The students then answered the problems and discuss the solutions to their partners. After which, a spokesperson for each pair went to the board and explain their solutions to the class. The class then discussed if the solution is valid and if not discuss why it is not. The Landa teacher also assigned a word problem to each student. However, in this class, the students were not paired up. Each answered the word problem according to the algorithm given by the teacher. The teacher then checked if each of the students’ answer is correct. If not, he returned the paper to the student and asked him or her to review his solution and correct it. Both classes were given a written exam on the fourth day applying what they have learned for this lesson (addition and subtraction). The next day, both classes were given another chapter examination of ten various word problems. The examinations did not instruct as to which particular type of solution will be used. That is, the students are free to choose which strategy to use. This same procedure was used in discussing multiplication and division. After their examination on multiplication and division, the teachers devoted the whole session in discussing word problems in which all of the operations are applied. The first 45 minutes of the last day was devoted to discussing word problems in which all of the mathematical operations are involved. For the last 45 minutes, both classes were given a word problem to solve. Each teacher used the same procedure as they did in their previous lessons. Final Assessment Stage After the discussions and examinations on multiplication and division, both classes were then given a final examination to assess what they have learned and understood in their class. The examination will consist of twenty word problems involving the mathematical operations discussed in their classes. These problems consisted of each type of problem discussed in Chapter 2. Again, the examinations did not instruct as to which particular type of solution will be used so that the students are free to choose which one they will utilize. The students were also free to ask their teachers for clarifications. After answering their examinations, the teachers were asked to fill out questionnaires regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the educational theories they practiced. The students were also interviewed asking them what they have learned from their lessons aside from learning mathematical operations. The questionnaires contained open questions dealing with the strengths and weaknesses of their approach to allow respondents to say what is exactly on their minds.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Understanding Leadership Styles Essay Example for Free

Understanding Leadership Styles Essay 1.1 Describe the factors that will influence the choice of leadership styles or behaviours in workplace situations Introduction I work as a manager for Innovations which is a day-care facility for individuals with learning disabilities; the majority of the individuals who attend the resource centre I manage can be very challenging and have very complex needs and behaviours at times. It is my job to create intervention plans and work closely with care co-ordinators, other agencies such as safeguarding, Intense homes support services, and the behaviour team to put strategies in place to safeguard service users and staff. It is my job to identify strengths and weaknesses in team members and ensure they get relevant training to help them develop in their role or to give praise and build on skills helping them to gain recognition on their accomplishments and support them to gain promotions should this be their aim. As a manager I feel I need to be an example to others—either positive or negative. It is necessary for me to adopt characteristics from a variety of leadership styles based on the situation at hand. Regardless of the leadership activity needed, it is important to act with integrity, to set realistic goals, to communicate clearly and often, to encourage others, to recognize the successes of other team members, and to inspire them to provide the best of care. Hopefully my actions will be reflected by my staff in the care they give to our service users each day regardless of which style I practice. Management by walking about (MBWA) I use this style of leadership quite often in the workplace as this gives me the opportunity of observing team members interacting with our service users and evaluate the quality of care being delivered. It also lets staff know that I am interested in them and their work and lets them know that I am approachable. I ask about the work they are doing in a way that sounds interested not intrusive and try to discover what motivates them and whether or not staff and residents are satisfied. When I see a success I applaud it and thank them on the spot for doing well. Autocratic leadership This style of leadership is essential at times within the organisation I work for due to supporting vulnerable individuals and situations can arise which require fast responses i.e. emergency situations where a service user has had an accident or is putting others at risk by using challenging or aggressive behaviour, it could be that staff have tried every other resource they have and will then call the office for advice, I would then make the ultimate instant decision of what needs to be done. This style of leadership is only used when necessary as it does not promote trust, communication, or teamwork which is paramount in our service and it can alienate people and stifle flexibility and innovativeness. Democratic leadership I choose to use this style of leadership on a daily basis as the opinions of the team are always taken into account when finding effective solutions and protocols to effectively deal with the individuals we support. The team are the most important influence on these individuals as they work closely with them each day and know their behaviours, likes and dislikes and what could potentially trigger an undesirable situation to occur. Team member’s feedback daily to management and share any concerns and pass on all relevant information and ideas to enable others staff and management to deal with similar situations in the future and allow for interventions and protocols to be drawn up and put in place for all team member’s to follow and have a consistent approach. Staff also share ideas, concerns and issues during their monthly supervisions and staff meetings. All decision making is shared with staff and all critique and opinions of each member of the team are taken into acc ount which encourages group participation and allows every team member to feel more important than the actual problems they are encountering in their day to day role. Laissez-Faire Leadership Style This style would not work in my organisation as staff need the constant availability and advice from management to feel secure and to support when problems arise, we work with challenging individuals on a daily basis and  staff are not always confident when confronted with abuse both verbal and physical and need immediate interventions that only management are able to implement. we are bound by strict codes of practice and guidelines to follow in these situations both by the care standards act and the CQC (care quality commission) also our own organisational policies and procedures which are constantly updated, there is also annual training and courses and the need for constant feedback and communication on a daily basis to provide support to our staff and the best possible care and outcomes for the individuals we support, I liaise with crisis teams and care co-ordinators with the information and reports that I receive from staff to find suitable outcomes for any concerns or issues they have with the people they support making this style of leadership inappropriate for our organisation. 1.2 Explain why these leadership styles or behaviours are likely to have a positive or negative effect on individual and group behaviour. Autocratic leadership Factors that would influence me using this style of leadership (positive effect) I would use this style in an emergency situation.  When my staff arrived to pick up a particularly complex service user she was extremely agitated and throwing cups and other items at staff in her home, she then turned her attention to my staff verbally abusing them and threatening harm to them. As we were responsible for supporting her at this time one member of staff needed to stay at the service user’s home to support her as it was not deemed safe to continue with her on community based activities while she was showing such aggression. The staff member I was speaking to said she was concerned about staying with the service user as she informed me that she had now attacked her home staff and another service user who lived there and that the police had been called for assistance, I told the staff member that she was to follow her training and keep herself out of danger at all times, I told her to support the house staff as far as she could without putting herself in the line of fire and that the other members of staff needed to bring the other service user on the bus back to the unit and drop her off, they could then return and support. I told her she needed to record everything and report to me frequently so that I was kept up to date with the situation and make any  decisions as deemed necessary to the ongoing situation. I needed to be autocratic as decisions needed to made as a matter of urgency and there was no time for discussion with the staff involved. I would use this style when managing a new or untrained member or members of staff who does not know what tasks to perform or what procedures to follow. Due to staff holidays or sickness, my unit often uses groups of staff from other units who do not have experience and knowledge of the complex service users we support at Brantwood. This can be extremely difficult for me as a unit manager as I need them to be knowledgeable as I don’t always have enough of my own staff to mentor them on these occasions due to holiday and sickness. it is important that support plans are read and signed and that these staff are aware of all strategies and interventions that we use to overcome behaviours that could occur whilst supporting service users. This is necessary as this will prevent situations escalating. When staff arrive at the unit I brief them on the expectations of the unit and make sure that they are aware of the routine and procedures we follow on a daily basis, staff can quite often be sat reading files but chatting amongst themselves therefore not digesting the information in the files. I have no hesitation in these circumstances instructing staff to move to a quiet area and sit in different rooms where they are able to read without distraction and will emphasise the importance of having enough knowledge to support the service users to the standard required. The team members skills in this situation are low and they are novices with the service users they are going to support therefore need clear direction which will help them to learn and apply their skills in the correct way. If a member of staff challenged my position as a manager, I had a member of staff who was part of a team of three who were supporting a service user who needed 1-1 support and another who needed 2-1 support when in the community. I asked my deputy to request that they return to the unit and drop one member of staff off so they could take another staff member back to another unit, my deputy informed me that the staff member told her that she was not willing to do this as both service users needed an escort, I called the staff member in question and asked her what the problem was and why she was refusing to follow instructions from the deputy manager who was  her senior, she told me that in her opinion the instruction she received was wrong and believed that both service users needed an escort each and when they dropped the staff member of at another unit there would only be two staff left on the bus. I pointed out that they both needed an escort however they would still have an escort on the bus, I told the staff member that she was refusing to fulfil the requirements of her job role by supporting requests from her manager and that as a company we take this very seriously and that this would lead to an investigation. I also asked the member of staff to return to the unit as requested and that another member of staff would take her place, I advised her that she should read the service users files in the meantime and ensure that she understands the contents and the context in what is written, I pointed out that the service users need the full support of three staff when in the community not when travelling on the bus. I would not use this leadership style with a member of staff (negative effect) Who becomes tense, fearful, or resentful, a member of staff had not checked the contents of a service users medication box when they signed it out from their home despite being prompted by her colleague on the bus with her who later reported this. When the box arrived at the unit and another member of staff signed it out they checked the box and realised that the wrong medication was in the box, the medication was life saving and could of had serious results for the service user had it been needed in an emergency. When the staff member was asked if she had checked the box on the morning, she said she had when she clearly hadn’t. The staff member was visibly upset as she had not followed the correct procedures and then had subsequently lied to her colleague and to management. This had to be addressed but I knew that she was sensitive and possibly fearful of what action would be taken against her. However I had to address what had happened. I would normally call staff members into the office in this type of situation but when I had gone to the kitchen I found the staff member making a cup of tea and decided to ask her informally how this had happened, she broke down in tears and said she knew it was wrong and it was a person’s life she had put in danger. I told her not to get upset and that I was sure she had learnt a very valuable lesson from this however I stressed the seriousness of the  situation but offered her support. I felt that this lessened her anxiety by addressing the situation but in an informal manner and that had she been brought into the office it would of had a demoralising effect and be detrimental on her self confidence cause resentment and mistrust towards her work colleague who had reported the issue. Democratic leadership Factors that would influence me using this style of leadership I would use this type of leadership with highly skilled or experienced staff or when implementing new strategies and protocols and resolving individual or group problems. Each morning I speak to staff about ongoing issues with service users as staff rotate on a daily basis working with different service users. Staff who have worked with them previously share experiences, successes and failures when dealing with recent behaviours they have encountered with our service user’s passing on valuable strategies and techniques to their colleagues. If incidents occur staff complete incident reports which are then passed to our quality assurance manager who carries out reflection work which enables staff to offer suggestions of how things could have gone better, reflect on their practice and share ideas of how to prevent these incidents in the future. I also promote feedback with an open door policy, through staff supervisions and staff meetings where all staff are encouraged to share their experiences and how they have effectively dealt with situations. I then build strategies and interventions from the feedback from the staff that work with service users on a daily basis and incorporate this information into the care plans. Other factors include:- Keeping staff informed about matters that affect them. Enabling staff to share in decision making and problem solving. Providing opportunities for staff to develop a high sense of personal growth and job satisfaction. Dealing with a large or complex problem that requires a lot of input to solve Sharing changes or problems that affect staff. To encourage team building and participation. I would be influenced to not use this method when:- There is not enough time to get everyone’s input Mistakes are not an option. Staff and service user safety is a critical concern. As detailed in my autocratic leadership style above. Laissez-Faire Leadership Style I use this style with my senior staff who are very experienced in their role and know our service users very well as they are working front line with them. I allow them to use their initiative and make decisions when they are working with them but at the same time offer guidance and support when requested. This allows the seniors in the unit to take a pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own and reach their goal. For example a new senior felt that the deputy manager was not relinquishing various duties as outlined in the senior job description i.e. allocating staff to service users each day, ensuring they had lists and money and ultimately are organised and on time for activities, this made the new senior feel that she was not trusted to do the job she had been promoted to do and not directly able to participate in decision making and prove her worth, leaving her feeling demoralised and unworthy of the job she had been promoted to do. I spoke to the deputy and explained how this would ease her own workload and build the confidence of the senior. I do use this style with my deputy manager at times for example when it comes to day to day decisions about the service users we manage as this is one of the principle parts of her job as is managing the staff in day to day activities and ensuring they are working to required standards, however when it comes to speaking to staff about bad practice she finds this very difficult and despite requests from myself to confront certain staff about bad practice or misconduct she is reluctant to do so and feels unsecure without my leadership, I therefore have to deal with such issues myself and at times take an autocratic approach with my deputy. AC 2.1 Assess own leadership behaviours and potential in the context of a particular leadership model and own organisation’s working practices and culture, using feedback from others The particular leadership model I have chosen to highlight in 2.1 is the autocratic style although this is the one style I would choose to use less if possible it is the one that causes the most contention, I have reflected briefly on other styles I prefer to use this is one that is necessary at times. In my organisation I work as unit manager in a day care setting for adults with learning disabilities. On a daily basis I have to use my leadership skills in order to manage the work and people in order to fulfil the company’s objectives and vision. In my opinion my leadership style for the most time is a democratic style, however at times my leadership style may have to adapt itself to the given situation. For example if a new employee has joined my team I would probably use a more supportive leadership style to help them learn and adapt. The company directors set the company culture in our unit. They use a very democratic and supportive leadership style which reflects how we work however at times a more autocratic leadership style is required. For example the company directors frequently monitor and controls individual and team performances, I have to do the same within my team. For example (A member of staff was sat with a group of elderly service users they were sat round a table and the staff member was sat with them, despite there being a planner in place for activities the staff member had not bothered to look at it and was sat with their mobile phone texting. I spoke to the staff member in my office and carried out a supervision so that the conversation would be documented and informed them they were not carrying out there outlined duties as an activities facilitator and not meeting the criteria of their job role. I informed them this was not acceptable and that apart from not interacting with and motivating th e service users they were breaking company policies by using their personal mobile phone without prior permission from management I informed the staff member I had no choice but to take it to an investigation meeting which could lead to disciplinary action). I always ensure that all staff understands my expectations up front so they are under no misunderstandings of what actions will be taken if the service we offer is compromised and staff are not performing to the required standard. I am consistent and fair and apply my expectations to all staff, however I make it clear that I want staff to feel that they are listened to and can bring their opinions to me and that they are heard no matter what the outcome. I  believe that as a manager it is important to be a master of not only one but all leadership styles and to know when to use them appropriately. Furthermore I use the following leadership style within my team. Creating and sharing a vision with the team, setting smart objectives, allocating tasks, allocating roles and responsibilities, monitoring performance, observation of individual team performances, giving constructive feedback and ideas for the development of skills where needed, in supervisions and staff meetings. The feedback from my team during their supervisions and staff meetings has suggested my leadership style is mostly democratic however there were certain elements of autocratic and supportive styles present. My team referred to the following leadership skills such as resolving conflict, facilitating discussion, motivating, encouraging, being approachable and listening, empowering and facilitating development. However they have also suggested that at times my leadership style is autocratic as I can be assertive, direct and quite blunt when they have not fulfilled the company’s or my expectations and directions and have not complied with company policies and procedures. I also assess my leadership through monthly supervisions and yearly appraisals with my director VA who I am directly responsible to, I take on board her feedback, an example of this is when I needed advice of how to address some concerns relating to a staff member not being able to carry out the work expected of h er. I found this awkward due to the fact that she was once my senior (deputy manager, when I started with the company, and I have since worked to gain a management position over her)Victoria and I discussed the options available to improve the staff member’s practice, and she offered to speak to the member of staff on my behalf, however Victoria felt that I had the relevant leadership skills to resolve this myself she said she would like me to understand my professional worth and be assertive in this situation. She felt that I was feeling a lack of empowerment and needed to all I could to address the balance and that this could only enhance my leadership skills. I addressed the issues with the staff member and told her it was constructive criticism I was offering and would give support to her whenever she felt she needed it. AC 2.2 Describe appropriate actions to enhance own leadership behaviour in the context of the particular leadership model Appropriate actions to enhance my own leadership behaviour in the context of the particular leadership model I chose in 2.1. Taking into consideration the chosen leadership style is autocratic there are several ways which I could enhance my leadership behaviour. One way would be to practice self-knowledge and self-awareness, these are both qualities required by any manager. In order to develop these qualities I must act upon constructive feedback I receive from internal or external environment. The feedback I attained from a number of sources including team members, other colleagues and line managers. I need to be observant and take into account my own actions and the impact it has on others. I need to be mindful of my own strengths and weaknesses and know when to ask for assistance and when I am good on my own. One of my strengths is I am serious about my work and my passions and keep my boundaries firm to maintain the integrity of my goals and the work I put into them, my weakness is I expect the same from others and can be disillusioned when this is not the case. I need to be willing to accept my failures and weaknesses and know that the key to success is not avoiding failure but learning from my mistakes and allowing others to do the same. I need to believe that making a mistake does not mean it is a mistake it gives people the opportunity to improve and grow. I need to enhance my communication skills and be able to clearly and specifically communicate my vision, goals, skills, intentions and expectations to others and strive to improve my verbal, nonverbal and listening skills without interrupting others as it can be too easy to jump in with an objection too quickly. It might be wise for me to find a role model I can learn from. It would have to be someone I respect highly and whose leadership I admire. If the role model agrees to mentor me, my leadership skills could greatly benefit. I have a great respect for my director VA and aspire to lead how she leads, she is just, fair and supportive and deals with subordinates in a manner that others find hard to challenge. She is very disciplined at work and I need to learn to apply this to my role and every area of my life, I feel  this is a character trait that will provide me with the enduring focus necessary for strong leadership.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Strategic Significance And Management Of Dell Inc Business Essay

Strategic Significance And Management Of Dell Inc Business Essay Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. The term strategic management underlines the importance of managers with regard to strategy. The strategic management role is different in nature from other aspects of management. It is concerned with complexity arising out of ambiguous and non-routine situations with organization wide rather than operation-specific implications (Thomas .L. Wheelen, 2010). This study based on the strategic management of Dell Inc. Dell has experienced its tremendous growth by empowering people through innovative products and services. Throughout this period dell has optimized its business model to raise its standards of excellence. Dells core values, mission, vision has facilitates the company to achieve this glorious goals. The purpose of this report to underpin an outlook for strategic significance and the management of dell computers by evaluating internal and external environments of Dells position in a comparative landscape. The report further undergoes the analysis; a recommended strategy has been outlined which will guided eventually to Dells strategic success. The final part of this study stating recommended the strategy and its implementation with a model including conclusion for the overall sustainability of the company. Company Profile Dell at a Glance Dell is an American multinational computer Technology Corporation founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. According to the statistics published under the global PC market share, it was placed to the 3rd position under the worldwide PC shipments. The company employees more than 82,700 people worldwide (www.scribd.com, 2012). Dell grew during the 1980s and 1990s to become a brand, thus Company employee Direct Business Model to expand the core business worldwide. Dells operational regions include mainly America, Europe Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. The company maintains a consistent focus on offering the best value to the customer. As a trusted technology innovator with diversified, comprehensive IT portfolio, Dell committed to serve its best to the customers and employee. For nearly three decades, Dell has been on an incredible journey, experiencing positive growth on a global scale. Empowering its people customers, business partners and team members who keep the company moving throu gh the rapidly evolving world of technology. Dell Key towards Strategic Planning Vision of the Company Its the way we do business. Its the way we interact with the community. Its the way we interpret the world around us-our customers needs, the future of technology, and the global business climate. Whatever changes the future may bring, our vision-Dell Vision-will be our guiding force The vision statement is able to put forward one of the most important principles behind the operations of Dell. The industry that Dell operates in is one of the most dynamic and ever changing one in the international market. Fluctuations of technology and consumer demands mean that change is the only constant. This is why the lack of prediction leads to the vision statement which focuses on the interpretation of strategy through consumer needs, technology trends and international business climate. Mission statement Dells mission is to be the most successful Computer Company in the world by delivering the best customer experience in markets they serve. In doing so, Dell will meet customer expectations in following areas. Highest quality, leading technology, Competitive pricing, individual and company accountability, best-in-class service and support, flexible customization capability and superior corporate citizenship. Dell Organizational Structure Dells governing body consisting with Executive Leadership team and the Board of Directors. The company is leading by the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Currently Michael S. Dell holding the two positions of chairman and the CEO (Dell, 2012). Dell is following two types of organizational structure which include Executive Leadership Team in senior management and Board of directors for oversight and supervision of the overall affairs of the company. They functions under the so call Executive Leadership Team. Supporting the Board of Directors functioning seven committee charters: Audit Committee Charter  , Compensation Committee Charter, Finance Committee,  Governance and Nominating Committee, Corporate Governance Principles,  Board of Directors Nomination Process,  Communicating With the Board of Directors.   Dells Executive Leadership team provides the guidance and focus in terms of seeking to help their customers more efficiently. They decide the companys operations and implements strategy and policy created by the Board of Directors (Dell, 2012).The other officers functions under the supervision of Board of Directors. The hierarchical organization structure is in Appendix:2. Organizational Characteristics Capabilities and Resources The heart of the Dells business strategy is its customer focus direct business model. In order to serve their customers in more efficient ways Dell developed its core competency by making its customers as the centric core value of its business and deployed the resources and capabilities. This has given the significant increment for Dells strategy to enhance and empowered more competencies such as manufacturing process, human capital management and supply chain management. In order to hit the comparative market in right manner Dell has to improve its products based on modern technologies and consistently Dell has to improve its supply chain and manufacturing process which compliment the efficiencies created by supply chain. Dell had recruit, train and retain compatible workforce which could contribute for company future growth. The healthy environment endorses honesty and accountability as a long term perspective which can logically approach and enhances the core competencies in the c omplicated infrastructure. By delivering values and servicing them effectively Dell became more efficient in terms of recognizing, acquiring and retaining customers by fulfilling their needs. The core competencies which I discussed above enable Dell to perform efficiently and manage its profitability in a mature industry environment see Appendixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Further Dell was able to leverage its core competencies by utilizing its internal resources and capabilities to enhance its key success factors. See appendix à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ In addition Dells infrastructure, global presence along with capabilities and human capital will leads Dell further to achieve potential growth and differentiated strategic dimension. Dells technological efficiency is capable of supporting expansion to new markets. Such strategies like growing sales and delivering value to the customers in an innovative process will support to the Dells global manufacturing facilities. Dells differentiation stems from process  innovation.  The company is very successful in leveraging and harnessing the value  of its suppliers and partners  technology innovation.  This allows Dell to minimize RD spending and improve the cost structure, a strategy that is rarely matched by competitors.  The company is  also gaining  knowledge in the  retail industry  by  partnering with major  retailers such as  Costco.  This is vital  for the success  of any strategic initiative aiming for a retail presence in global  emerging markets such as China and  India. Dells financials indicate a stellar operational performance evident by above the average inventory, assets  and receivables turnovers.  The company was  able to achieve a  high financial  performance at the operational level by utilizing its state of the art IT infrastructure, supply chain and inventory  management systems.  Further, the  companys stock  represents an  at tractive investment due to the companys utilization of  assets and focus on capital return.  This is evident when comparing Dells high return on investment, asses and invested capital (ROE, ROA and ROIC) to the industry  and market (Appendix  F).  Profitability  ratios indicate  that Dell  is experiencing average profit margins.  This is  contributed to  hyper competition  in the  PC industry; competitors are running on thinner margins in order to gain market share. The capital structure that Dell adopts focuses on financing growth and operations from retained earnings, the company doesnt  pay dividends or acquire debt.  The companys financial  policy in this regard emulates an IT start-up company, even though its a mature company in a mature industry.  Its highly  unlikely that Dell  will continue this  policy in the near  future as investors press  for dividends  and the stock price falls, as  is happening already.  Further, acquir ing debt might be necessary to finance growth and establishing retail presence into global emerging markets. This will not have a negative effect on Dell since it possesses the necessary financial leverage. Business segmentations of Dell Dells business segmentation focuses with the customer. It attempt to fulfill customer needs which is at the heart of Dell. During the past years Dell has signified and recognized its customer-centric business. Dell believes that they operate its global Consumer business by serving customers with faster innovation and greater responsiveness, and enables them to better understand and address their challenges. Dells global business segments are given in the Appendixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Dell Business Strategy Dell is a customer-centric company which its marketing strategy is quite simple and basic in nature. The main emphasis is on the low-cost-strategy by selling the products at lower prices by following a direct business model which removes the middlemen. Dell is superior to manufacture its products with the time and cost and offer high level of customer service by meeting the customers expectations. This so call direct business model has five features which is explain in appendix.. Dell Product Development Strategy The product development strategy of Dells focus with developing its products based on technologies which include superior features and capabilities at competitive prices. Dell employees its unique approach in terms of design and development its products architecting innovative system designs and integrating new technologies to its products. Therefore by implementing this customer-centric approach, Dell delivers new and relevant products and services to the market quickly and efficiently (Dell, 2012). The company continuing to expands its business through delivering products faster and serving the customers in particular way. Key strategic issues Dell is facing multiple strategic issues which may impede on the companys top positioning the computer hardware market. This section addresses the four key strategic issues that Dell should address in order to maintain its prominent market position. First, Dell faces slow growth for its primary product: the personal computer (PC) in saturated U.S. market. The majority of U.S. corporate and education PCs will be replacement units affected by a technological upgrade cycle within the next two years. Therefore, as Dell attempts to maintain its dominant position, the company should focus on product customization and superior relationships with suppliers. This strategy enabled Dells past success but had  become diluted over the last five years. The company should continue to improve itself in these areas in order to remain the top computer hardware differentiator. Second, the erosion of Dells brand value continues due to the perception of declining customer service. Although the company prides itself on superior customer service, recent surveys suggest that Dells results recently declined in this business segment. Dells executives are aware that quality customer service is a key element of the companys success and are reportedly working towards improvements. Third, Dells inability to serve all market needs due to the current strategy of limited vendors in its supply chain. Dell brings few products to market and leverages technology created  by other companies effectively and efficiently. Dell also remains committed to chip supplier, Intel. Although this enables Dell to offer PCs at high value to consumers, it also limits the companys ability to supply diverse customers. The company should consider enabling itself to offer more customized products by increasing relationships with more diverse suppliers Strategic Management Analysis Strategic Analysis is the process of conducting research on the business environment within an organization which operates and on the organization itself. This provides the foundation for the strategic management by providing an insight into the forces behind the intense competition, by developing a sustaining competitive advantage based on organization core competency (JOSEPH, 2012). The Strategic analysis is a one step in strategic management .The steps involved in strategic management is given in Appendixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Strategic analysis used following key analytical methods to underpin strategic management. SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis, Porters five forces analysis and Value chain analysis (CIMA, 2007). Internal Analysis of Dell Dell enjoys in terms of low cost with superior product performance by its distinctive competencies. They are the core benefits which are practicing by Dell through its direct business model. Dell designs its products according to wishes of the target which allow the company to enjoy superior customer value and brand loyalty, which enhances company ability to coordinate its various functions to produce exciting products. Dell arrive its competitive advantage from three dimensions which is given in Appendixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Value chain analysis of Dell Before making a strategic decision, it is essential to understand how activities within the organization create value for customers. The main aim of value-chain is to categorize the generically value adding service of an organization. The theoretical study of value chain is given in Appendix.. Dell Value Chain Analysis Primary Activities. Support Activities Inbound Logistics Dell relies mostly on its highly reliable supplier, where Dell streamlines its operation and relies on its computer monitor supplier to ship directly to the customer. As long as its supplier retains its leadership position, Dell would collaborate with it to achieve mutual success. Operations Every Dell system is built to order. Therefore Customers get exactly what they want.  Dell uses knowledge gained from direct customer contact before and after the sale to provide award-winning reliability and tailored customer service.   Outbound Logistics When Dell introduced its direct business model which sells its products directly to consumers and communicating with them and serving them directly. Dell, on the other hand, sells, especially in two areas, seeing sales trends and learning about unmet customer needs.  The company also relies on customers knowledge of what they want to purchase and when they want to complete the transaction to drive the direct business model. Dell leverages this source of customer knowledge by making it as easy as possible for a customer to place a customized order electronically.   Marketing and Sales Dells direct to customer model solve the problem for additional capital for marketing and sales. By selling directly to consumer it eliminated retailers along the way. One advantage of this kind of system is that the firm is continuously in contact with its customers and they are benefiting in two areas concerning sales and marketing, seeing sales trends and learning about unmet costumer demands. Service Dell spent dollars training well-educated business segment managers provide state-of-the art advice to customers. The company also initiated a collaborative customer-solution teams that collaborate with customers to fulfill any unmet customer needs. Because of the nature of work of Dells employees they are continually being inspired to stay abreast of technology threats and opportunities that may alter the competitive landscape in the future. Procurement It is on this activity that Dell is weak because Dell do not enjoy protected by trademark or patent or copyright  technology. The technology being used in the industry is shared by all industry players. Technology Development Technology is an important source of competitive advantage and here one strength of Dell for the firm enjoys better access to technology. Dell introduces the latest relevant technology much more quickly than companies with slow-moving indirect distribution channels. Human Resource Management (HRM) Dells mission statement is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. Dell employees, direct salespeople, help-desk operators, engineers, and the like all have to be knowledgeable and customer focused to ensure Dells continued competitiveness. Firm Infrastructure Dell revolutionized the traditional value chain of computer manufacturing industry by introducing the direct to customer model. Dell also employed a global business consultancy, to help it develop a set of metrics to judge business-unit performance. By doing so, daily decision making were more efficient. The chief financial objective that steered managerial evaluation at Dell was return on invested capital (ROIC). Which leads to no inventory build-up, Dell turns over inventory every six days on average, keeping related costs low. External Analysis of Dell PEST Analysis: Dells environment consists of uncontrollable forces that directly or indirectly influence an organizations ability to achieve a desired result. In the words of Kotler and Armstrong marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing managements ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers (Kotler Armstrong, 2003). These influences create both opportunities and threats for a company in a comparative market segment. Dell PESTEL Analysis factors Analysis Political The political environment of the business has pivotal effects on the performance of the business in the quest of achieving its strategic goals. The political instability started after the 9/11 has affected the market conditions all over the world. Most of the computer manufacturers belong to US and the country government is taking huge efforts to facilitate the business. This offers exciting opportunities across the world to manufacturer like Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba, and Lenovo etc. In order to capitalize the growing needs of the market the government of US has strengthen its ties with China in order to exploit the comparative advantage of the country in the form of low labor and technological cost Economic High tariffs on IT products makes Dell difficult to enter other markets apart from USA .since most of the population of the world is young and adaptive to change in technology, dell aimed to manufacture its products which are more user friendly and can be afforded by young professionals, because purchasing power of working population saw an increase over the past few decades. Since the economy saw a change due to the meltdown and recession, dell also had to modify some of its policies to cope up with the changing scenario. The change in the US economy also effected Dell with it bring change in its core policies of inventory and credit management of receivables and inventory conversion days to decrease its operating cycle and thus reduce cost. Social The values across the continents are changing with the passage of time, and now a global culture is arising meaning the presence of universal segment having the same values, likes and dislikes and other norms across the world. This offers exciting opportunities to various organizations including computer manufacturer in the form of standardized product development offers across the world with no adaptation. This translates into various economies, and low fixed costs, meaning change in attitude towards foreign brand. Technological Technological changes are happening at a very fast rate due to which Dell is able to provide advanced technology  products to the  customers. As a result of  technological changes Dell has also increased their product line. It is adapting to the technological changes as he old technology is becoming obsolete. One of the most important effects of technological changes that have led to the increase of the demand of Dell computers is their Direct Business Model. They have excellent ecommerce capabilities, which can be seen with the success of the dell. The recent technological changes can be seen in their recent products like New Power Edge Servers, New Enterprise Computing Portfolio, Innovation Aids Recovery, Ultra-Thin Laptop, Adamo, which will be in the market very soon. Dell could exploit the network-internet, extranet to reach the corners of the world. Five Forces Analysis The Porters five Forces model is a simple and powerful strategy analysis tool that helps managers to know where the control lies in a company situation. It helps in understanding the strengths of the company in the market against the competitors, suppliers, and buyers. According to Porter the nature of competitiveness in a given industry can be viewed as composite of five forces, rivalry among competitive firms, potential entry of new competitors, potential development of substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers and bargaining power of consumers (David, 2005). The relationship of Porters five forces model for Dell have been depicted. In the following the study explore the five elements that constitute Porters five forces one by one and evaluate their impact on Dell in particular and personal computer industry in general. Rivalry Amongst Existing Competitors The personal computer industry from the beginning is inclined toward consolidation, as the market type can rightly be cited as oligopoly. The industry contains players like Lenovo, HP, Toshiba, Sony etc. The competition in the market is based on price and competitive advantage. Threat of New Entrants Every player tries its utmost to beat and outperform competitors by producing the latest technology and then price them competitively. This probably the reason that new firms find it very hard to enter the market and the existing competitors trying their level best to either maintain their market. Bargaining Power of Buyer: In the personal computer industry the bargaining power of the buyer is very high due to the fact that there is very less amount of brand loyalty in the market because most of the manufacturer produced identical products. In additional to absence of brand loyalty, the switching cost is very low in the industry because most of the systems are based on the Intel processor. Moreover, customer also feels comfortable with backward integration and building their own system through selecting the individual components manufactured by different producers. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Traditionally the bargaining power of suppliers is also very high in the computer market. This is due to the fact that there are very few suppliers who supply the major components of the computer. For example the major suppliers of microprocessor are Intel and AMD. They are almost having the monopoly over the market. Moreover the organization will bear significant switching if the decided to change the component part suppliers. Substitute products Usually the availability of substitute does affect the sales and profitability of the computer and its various components to huge extent. Traditionally the threat of substitutes is very high for Dell. The computer industry has traditionally experienced similar products produced by the different manufacturer with a very little distinction between a computers produced by one manufacture with that of other. The competition between the rivals can be rightly cited as oligopoly because almost all the major producer manufactures identical products. The Industry Life Cycle: The computer industry as a whole has entered the maturity stage of product life cycle (Norman, 2010). Some of the weak competitors have disband their production while others (HP and Compaq) have consolidated their business due to decreasing margins with the passage of time and economic crunch that have started after the insolvency of Lehman Brothers. Most of the competitors are trying their level best to differentiate their offerings from the competitors in order to reduced value for their consumers, while other are trying to produce aesthetic design, ease of use, superior product performance. As depicted in Figure 1 the customer now Requires solution and convenience as compared to technology and performance. In order to stay competitive in the market all the players should continuously innovate their offerings according to the latest trends of the market . http://www.nngroup.com/reports/FigsFromIC/2-3.jpg Figure 1: Customer Preferences: adopted from http://www.nngroup.com/reports/life_cycle_of_tech.html.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Sorority House Ghost Story :: Urban Legend

Sorority House Ghost Story I searched until I heard a story that gave me the chills. It comes from right around the block from where I live on campus, at one of the sorority houses at the University of Maryland. I collected this story the weekend of April 2nd, at my fraternity house. I asked my friend, a junior from Pikesville, if she knows any ghost stories. Her face lit up as if she was dying to tell me this story since the first time we ever met. She asked â€Å"you never heard the story of the ghost in the sorority house?† I replied no. The normally quiet woman demanded my attention away from the TV and went into her story. "Many years ago a bunch of girls in my house [supposedly] were drinking and celebrating a girl’s 21st birthday party.† She went on to explain that drinking in sorority houses is forbidden by the university, and that a sorority would get thrown out of their own house if the university or the police ever found out. My friend told this story very well. I felt like I should turn out the lights and give her a flashlight to hold up to her face. She went on to say that, according to the legend, everyone was very drunk and pushed the birthday girl to keep drinking. It is tradition that the birthday boy or girl takes 21 shots on his or her 21st birthday. Unfortunately for this young woman, she passed out before she made it to her benchmarked 21st shot. The women, terrified that if they brought her to a hospital they would get into trouble for drinking in their house, took the birthday girl to her bed and tried taking care of her themselves. Before midnight (when she would have turned 21), the young woman died of alcohol poisoning. Ever since that night, the sorority house has been haunted. The storyteller told me that a friend she knows once had her keyboard pulled out of her desk in the middle of the night and the keys mysteriously started moving on their own. She said that toilets inexplicably flush and the sinks in the house sometimes turn on without anybody touching them. The storyteller made the legend very believable in the way she described young women who I know who have had ghost encounters.

Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

Nick Carraway, the narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, assigns certain types of images and descriptive words to Tom, Daisy and Jordan and continues to elaborate on these illustration throughout the first chapter. Nick uses contrasting approaches to arrive at these character sketches; Tom is described by his physical attributes, Daisy through her mannerisms and speech, and Jordan is a character primarily defined by the gossip of her fellow personages. Each approach, however, ends in similar conclusions as each character develops certain distinguishing qualities even by the end of the first chapter. Lastly, the voices of the characters also helped to project truly palpable personalities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom Buchanan is repeatedly depicted by words referring to his hulking and massive frame, producing a vivid image of sheer arrogance and power. Before Tom is even introduced, his expansive house is seen, an ostentatious mansion fit for a postcard. Tom later remarks matter-of-factly “I’ve got a nice place here'; (12). Nick’s first actual encounter with Tom is a paragraph saturated with words of strength and authority: sturdy, supercilious, enormous, and aggressive, to name a few. Tom’s physical body is described as “cruel'; and this describes more than just his body, but his demeanor as well. His voice, “…a gruff husky tenor…'; (11), added to his rough image. Every one of his actions is completed with unnecessary force. Tom has the tendency to manhandle Nick, manipulating nearly all of his movements. “…wedging his tense arm imperatively under mine, Tom Buchanan compelled me from the room as though he were m oving a checker to another square. (16)'; The action verbs Fitzgerald employs convey Tom’s brutish force. Charles Scribner III could not have been more correct when he said, “I would know Tom Buchanan if I met him on the street and would avoid him…'; (199).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daisy’s actions and words contrast greatly with her husband, Tom, and his grave nature. Her impression on the reader is frivolous with her “charming little laugh'; (13), and her light manner. In addition, Daisy’s tendency to murmur, rumored to make people lean closer to her, also reflects on her coquettish personality. Nick’s ability to read Daisy so well from her facial expressions and body language attests that her mannerisms are very illustrative; “Daisy took her face in her hands…I saw that turbulent emotions possessed her, so I asked what I thought would be some sedative questions. She also welcomes Nick’s charming but cheesy flattery, when talking about Chicago and she treats him the same way in return by referring to him as a rose and also by saying “I am p-paralyzed with happiness'; (13).

Friday, July 19, 2019

Thoreau vs. Hawthorne :: comparison compare contrast essays

Thoreau vs. Hawthorne Personal Lives Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817 and died there peacefully on May 6, 1862. He was described by Hawthorne as "ugly as sin." He loved nature, and his constant preoccupation was exploring the woods and ponds making detailed observations of plants and creatures. Henry led a singular life, never marrying, and marching to his own drummer, as he put it. From 1845 to 1847, he lived alone in a small cabin he built by Walden Pond near Concord. He described this unique experiment in natural living in "Walden" criticizing those who "lead lives of quiet desperation" with all the trappings of customary society. His personal independence and straightforward manner was harsh to some people, and he gained very little recognition during his lifetime. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family that had been prominent in the area since colonial times. Hawthorne was very handsome and never had problems with looks. When Nathaniel was four, his father died on a voyage in Surinam. Hawthorne was extremely concerned with traditional values. From 1836 to 1844, the Boston-centered Transcendentalist movement, led by Ralph Waldo Emerson, was an important force in New England intellectual circles. The Transcendentalists believed that human existence transcended the sensory realm, and rejected formalism in favor of individual responsibility. The Scarlet Letter shows some Transcendentalist influence, including a belief in individual choice and consequence, and an emphasis on symbolism. Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne are different and alike in many ways. Thoreau was a man that never married and believes each man should "march to his own drum" or go his own pace. Nathaniel Hawthorne on the other hand, was married very quickly. Thoreau was described "as ugly as sin with a long nose and queer mouth." Hawthorne was handsome on the outside, but depressed on the inside. Hawthorne was a Dark Romantic, while Thoreau was a Transcendentalist. Dominant Traits Henry David Thoreau's dominant trait was being a Transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is the belief asserting the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that transcends the experimental and scientific and is knowable through instinct.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Fathers and Daughters Relationships in Shakespeare’s Literature Essay

The fathers and daughters relationships in Shakespeare drama and literature have attracted a great deal of scholarly attentions specifically in the influence of feminist criticism. There is an apparent shifting affection towards fathers and daughters when the latter struggle to negotiate a passage into adulthood and marriage with their father’s blessings, and when the fathers struggle to surrender or relinquish their young daughters to other men—their future husbands. Most of the time the fathers, who often belongs to royalty or upper class, rejects the men that their daughters choose because of their lower standing. Apparently, some fathers judge the appropriateness of the men through their properties, strength and social positions. Also Shakespeare incorporates fathers from the middle life who are also reluctant to release their daughters at the threshold of adult commitment in marriage. The conflicts, fears, and insecurities, as each faces a crucial challenge of adulthood, cast new light on questions of moral development, male and female sex roles, and traditional and progressive social norms. In earlier marriage, the father is the one who mostly manipulate his daughter’s decision making and thus making a woman’s sense of free will powerless. Meanwhile, some appraisals in fathers and daughters relationship in Shakespeare’s literature are typically more sympathetic to the fathers. Some daughters manifest tyrannical possessiveness taking advantage to her social standing and the excess parental affection of her father. Some are being manipulated by the daughters’ exemplary conduct such as capriciousness, coldness and disloyalty. While some rebels against father’s possessiveness towards them â€Å"as a love corrupted by the power a patriarchal society confers on him†. Juliet and her father Old Capulet in the story of Romeo and Juliet, Desdemona and her father Branbantio in the story of Othello, Portia’s submissiveness to her father’s standard in The Merchant in Venice, though she knows it is quite wrong, all consciously or unconsciously moves to the whims of patriarchy. Meanwhile the character of Cordelia, the youngest daughter of King Lear, refused to go over board in her statement of love towards her father, and Jessica shows her disobedience and rebellious nature towards her father Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Apparently, there are two facets of fathers and daughters relationships in Shakespeare literature; first, some of his literature shows daughters’ submissiveness towards the standards of patriarchy as the daughters allow their fathers to dominate their lives to the extent that they are helpless to change their fate, and second, some daughters boldly oppose their fathers’ standards through escape and rebellion. These two facets creates such ambiguity as to whether Shakespeare is a pro feminist as he presents sexist oppression or did Shakespeare somehow remains within the tradition of patriarchy? Most of the tensions and conflicts between the fathers and daughters revolve around the impending marriages of the daughters. In various Shakespearean plays, the father is often the one who chooses his daughter’s husband, which normally goes against the daughter’s will. â€Å"The daughters in some Shakespearean literature break the emotional strings that tie them to childhood, defying paternal authority to assert emotional independence† (Dreher 5). One good example that shows defiance in paternal authority is when Juliet proceeds to marry Romeo event though Capulet, her father, strongly disagrees since Romeo is a Montague, the family’s rival clan. This action from Juliet creates conflict between her and her father which eventually leads to added drama throughout the play. Capulet is forced to disown his own daughter because of her act of disobedience; â€Å"Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch/ I tell thee what: get thee to church o’ Thursday/ Or never after look me in the face/ Speak not, reply not, do not answer me!/ My fingers itch.  Ã‚  Wife, we scarce thought us blest/ That God had lent us but this only child;/ But now I see this one is one too much,/ And that we have a curse in having her/ Out on her, hilding.† (Shakespeare 207). Capulet feels like he is not being just rejected as a father but her patriarchal role has been rejected as well. As for Juliet, her opposition towards her father especially in terms of love illustrates her need for emotional freedom and desires for life transition that will give her opportunities for personal growth. But Juliet apparently holds her father’s opinion in high regard and respect because after receiving her father’s judgment, she says; â€Å"Good father, I beseech you on my knees,/ Hear me with patience but to speak a word (Shakespeare 207). She apparently does feel badly for disappointing her father. Therefore, some Shakespeare’s female characters think very highly of their father’s opinions as part of their tradition, but proceed to do what they feel is in their own best interests and advantage. Though Juliet disobey her father after falling in love with Romeo but her love for the man develops her sense of independence and maturity since Juliet in the initial part of the play plays the role of an innocent child who comes at her parents command immediately and who perceives marriage â€Å"an honour that I dream not of† (Shakespeare 48). Similarly, Juliet and Lord Capulet have a strong relationship in the beginning of the play wherein the latter treats her daughter with so much love and compassion but not until he wishes her to marry Paris in Scene 5 of Act III. When Juliet disobeys, he put his judgment against her daughter with rage. But when Juliet returns apologetically to her father, and agrees to marry Paris, he once again returns to being the loving and caring father the readers initially identified. This also shows that Juliet, though has an independent mind, is still attached to the belief that she has a responsibility as a daughter to obey her father. Basically, the play Romeo and Juliet shows how the limitations set forth by the father in a patriarchal society can affect a daughter’s life while she lives under his roof. The patriarchal or authoritarian demands made by Juliet’s father, Juliet’s marrying Paris, in combination to Juliet’s secret marriage to Romeo, her father’s most hated enemy, greatly contributed to Juliet’s suicide and tragedy. â€Å"Although Capulet is genuinely distraught over his daughter’s suicide at the end, leading us to believe that his love for her was greater than his dictatorial display of affection for her throughout the play, he is nevertheless one of the chief culprits for her demise†. Desdemona and Brabantio’s relationship has one of the most unique father and daughter relationship in all Shakespearean’s plays. The subtle conflict between the two starts when Desdemona fallen in love with a man of a different race, culture and color. She marries Othello even though she knows that her father will greatly oppose on it.   She conceals her intentions and weds without her father’s consent which as a result, she loses her father’s affection. Brabantio is a Venetian Senator with definite ideas on the subject and behaviour of his daughter. He, as much as possible, wants her daughter to choose a husband who he feels is of her caliber, someone that will fit her complex psychological traits and as well as someone who will raise their family’s esteem in Venetian society. But Desdemona acts contrary to what is expected of her. She instead marries a Moor and not a Venetian man and an army general who does not have a lot of money but only prestige. Furthermore, Othello is also old nearly like her father’s age since the two are friends. Brabantio apparently wants her son in law to have a long life expectancy to inherit the family’s wealth and so that Desdemona would not be widowed or have to return to her father’s dependence. Meanwhile, Desdemona’s father doesn’t also understand Desdemona’s judgment in marrying Othello since her actions are so out of keeping with his sense of her character. He apparently believes that Desdemona’s decision to marry Othello is so incongruous with both the social norms and Desdemona’s usual self. Thus Brabantio then believes that she must have been bewitched since he couldn’t believe that his actions are all voluntary, â€Å"For I’ll refer me to all things of sense,/ If she in chains of magic were not bound,/ Whether a maid so tender, fair and happy,/ So opposite to marriage that she shunn’d/ The wealthy curled darlings of our nations,/ Would ever have (t’ incur a general mock)/ Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom/ Of such a thing as thou—to fear, not to delight† (Shakespeare â€Å"Othello† 10). Though Othello says that Desdemona was captivated by his tales of adventure and suffering not bewitched, â€Å" My story being done/ She gave me for my pains a world of sighs/ She swore, in faith, t’was strange, ‘twas passing strange;/ ‘Twas pitiful, ‘twas wondrous pitiful† (Shakespeare â€Å"Othello† 16). But nonetheless, whatever the intentions behind Desdemona’s decision, her actions illustrates disobedience to social norms and ultimately to her father’s expectations. In the Merchant of Venice, two separate father-daughter relationships play an integral role in the central narrative of the play. The play illustrates the strained relationship of Venetian and Jewish money lender Shylock and his daughter Jessica and the non existent association on Portia’s relationship with her deceased father. Shylock, devastated with the death of his wife Leah many years earlier, kept his house and environment with great mourning out of her respect for her. The continuous dedication or even obsession of Jessica’s father to her mother created distance between Shylock and his daughter Jessica, who can never completely understand the great love her parents shared. Jessica’s father is strictly puritanical too, wherein he keeps Jessica locks up in their small world isolating her from the outside. Moreover, Shylock also shows little love and affection towards his daughter that perhaps motivated the latter to be rebellious and disloyal. She meets secretly with Lorenzo who is a Christian. When the two fled together, Shylock becomes even more upset discovering that his valuables disappeared with them, â€Å"My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter ! / Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! / Justice! The law! My ducats and my daughter! / A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats, / Of double ducats, stol’n from me by my daughter! / And jewels—two stones, two rich and precious stones, / Stol’n by my daughter! Justice! Find the girl! / She hath the stones with her, and the ducats!† (Shakespeare â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† 40). Jessica is not a good daughter at all since she let her rage against her father to dominate her actions and decisions. Likewise, Shylock is not a good father since he gives more importance to tradition, mourning and wealth giving little attention to his daughter. Portia’s father on the other hand is just as controlling as Jessica’s father however, Portia approach her father’s wishes with submissiveness. Though Portia is one of the strongest female characters in all Shakespearean’s plays, she respects her father’s wishes. King Lear, who is old enough to retire from power, decides to divide his royalty amongst his three beautiful daughters. He offers the largest share to the one who loves him best. Goneril and Regan, who significantly give importance to position and royalty, proclaim passionately and with all hypocrisy that they love their father more than anyone and any material thing in this world. Their statements completely please the King. However, Cordelia, the King’s youngest daughter, refuses to flatter him exaggeratedly, displaying a mild and forbearing temperament. Cordelia’s honest assertion annoys and offends the King. Easily persuaded by the hollowness of his two daughters’ pretensions due to his blindness and wrong judgment of character, King Lear then decides to disinherit Cordelia and divides the kingdom only between the two. The subtle conflict of the Cordelia and King Lear starts on this. King Lear is basically hurt with what he perceived as an insult. He is expecting a flattering affirmation for him by his daughter but the latter’s genuine statement insulted him.